Breaking point

A breaking point is an extreme psychological stresser that may cause a human to lose Integrity. Breaking points replace the old "hierarchy of sins" system of Morality in the Revised Storytelling System.

Overview

Breaking points are unique to each character, although certain actions (such as killing another human being) will almost always provoke one. The character's own actions may trigger a breaking point, or the actions of others that they witness/endure. For instance, stumbling upon a mutilated corpse may be a breaking point for a sheltered young student, but not for a veteran homicide detective, even if they have the same Integrity rating.

During character creation, players should answer a few questions about their character in order to gauge what is and isn't a breaking point. During play, the Storyteller decides when to call for a breaking point roll, and may assign bonuses or penalties to the roll based on circumstances. Killing in self-defense or defense of another, for instance, should take less of a penalty than a premeditated murder for personal gain.

Systems

When rolling a breaking point, the player rolls Resolve + Composure + a modifier based on their current Integrity + any other modifier called for by the Storyteller.

Current Integrity	Dice pool modifier
8-10	+2
6-7	+1
4-5	0
2-3	-1
1-2	-2

On a failure or a dramatic failure, the character loses a dot of Integrity and gains a condition.

On a success, the character does not lose Integrity but still gains a condition.

On an exceptional success, the character does not lose Integrity or gain a condition; instead they gain a Beat and a point of Willpower.

Meditating can give a character a +1 to breaking point rolls, but this is an extended action with an interval of 30 minutes that must be done every day.

In Other Lines

Breaking points have been adapted for the other second-edition game lines, though with some remnants of the "hierarchy of sins" in place to give players and storytellers a point of common reference for what qualifies as a breaking point for each game's Integrity equivalent.

Werewolf: The Forsaken

In Werewolf: The Forsaken Second Edition, Harmony is re-imagined so that the ideal rating is 5; higher Harmony means the character too heavily favors her human side, low Harmony means she has become too much the wolf. Thus werewolves experience two kinds of breaking points, and failure can either raise or lower Harmony because of it.

Demon: The Descent

Demons do not have a true Integrity equivalent, as their sense of morality is quite different from humans (if they even have one). Instead, their Cover rating reflects how well they're blending in with humanity, so compromise rolls are determined by actions that are out of character for their Cover rather than actions that cause psychological stress. Killing an innocent human may or may not be distressing to a demon, but that does not bear on whether the action affects their current Cover or not.

Beast: The Primordial

The Begotten do not experience breaking points. While their Satiety rating is in some ways similar to Harmony, it rises and falls in response to feeding and using their powers, not their behavior.

Changeling: the Lost

In Changeling: the Lost Second Edition, Clarity has changed from an Integrity analogue to a health track; breaking points are instead rolled as an attack, with Clarity damage marked as either mild or severe.

Geist: The Sin-Eaters

For the Bound, Synergy is both an Integrity equivalent and a Supernatural Tolerance Trait. Crisis points in the relationship between the Bound and her geist can lead to Synergy loss. These can be triggered by the geist's ban or bane, extreme injury, or a psychological stressor unique to the geist; other sources of stress do not cause crisis points. Conversely, other causes of Synergy loss are not subject to a crisis point roll.